For this project we were asked to find a magic trick that we can explain with science. My partner Veronica and I did our trick on how to turn water into fruit punch (and back). Check it out:
Lab Report
Research: When we were first assigned the project, Veronica and I googled science magic tricks and scrolled through tons of ideas. The experiment we decided on was originally called water into wine trick, but since it turned more of a pink than a red, we called it water into fruit punch.
Procedure:
- First you fill a glass halfway with water. Then drop in a few drops of phenolphthalein into the water.
- Next grab another glass and add in 2-3 drops of sodium hydroxide into it.
- Pour the glass of water into the glass with sodium hydroxide. The solution should now be a bright pink colour.
- To turn it back to clear, blow into the solution with a straw. It may take a while, but it will eventually go back.
Chemical Reaction: The “magic” of this trick is easy to understand if you know the basics about acid and base indicators.
Phenolphthalein (added to water in the first cup) is an indicator, and when a solution gets added to it with a pH of 9 or greater (a base) it turns a pink colour. Sodium hydroxide (added to the bottom of the second glass) is a base with pH 14, so when the phenolphthalein gets added to the sodium hydroxide it causes a reaction that turns the phenolphthalein pink – this is the “fruit punch”.
When we blow air through a straw into the pink solution, the carbon dioxide from our breath makes the pH go below the level that makes the phenolphthalein pink, so it goes back to clear or “water.”
Outcome: Originally, we were going to use sodium carbonate (pH 11) as our base. When we used it on our first attempt, the base wasn’t strong enough to make the phenolphthalein turn a bright pink colour. We then exchanged sodium carbonate for sodium hydroxide, which has a pH of 14. On our second attempt, this time using sodium hydroxide, the base was strong enough to make the colour we were looking for.
Overall I think our experiment went really well and looking back I thought we chose a very good science trick. Our trick was simple to do and easy to understand when you know the science behind it, but still was a cool trick.
By Veronica & Gracyn
Sources:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/waterwine.htm
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/features/water2wine.shtml